A queer fortune
befell Island No. 74.
Between the States of Arkansas and Mississippi there is a large
island, which, for want of a name, is commonly known as Island No.
74.[6] This slip of insular land is probably the only territory within
the United States and not of it, for this island is without the
boundaries of either State, county or township. It is not under
control of the government, because it is in the possession of an owner
whose claim is acknowledged by the government. The anomalous position
of the island as to political situation is due to the erosion of the
river as an active and the defects of statutory law as a passive
agent. According to the enactment whereby the States of Arkansas and
Mississippi were created, the river boundary of the former extends to
_mid-stream_; that of the latter to _mid-channel_. Herein is the
difficulty. A dissipated freshet turned the current against the
Mississippi bank, and shifted the former position of mid-channel many
rods to the eastward, so that the fortunate or unfortunate owner found
his possessions lying beyond both the mid-river point of Arkansas and
the mid-channel line of Mississippi. The owner of the plantation may
be unhappy at time of election, for he is practically a non-resident
of any political division.
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